- - Birchbox | "Decked Out" | December 2014 Review - -

How is this for exciting news on a Sunday - Birchbox now ships to Canada! The coveted US subscription box announced the news back in November that they were coming to Canada. I was so excited that I jumped at the opportunity to sign up and today, finally, I have a review of Birchbox's first box in Canada for you.

Since this is the very first ever Birchbox post on my blog, this post will be lengthy and photo-heavy (so in other words - like usual! haha).

More details about Birchbox after the jump!

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What is Birchbox? 
Birchbox is a subscription-based beauty sampling service that delivers 5 deluxe samples & full-sized products to you every month.

Frequency: monthly  

Subscription Plans:
     Monthly = $10
     Annual = $159.40 (two months are free)
Billing Date: 1st of every month
Ships to: US, Canada, UK, Spain, and France
Shipping Cost: $4.95 (for Canadians)
Shipping Date: 10th of every month
Points System: THE BEST EVER! Every 100 points earns you $10 off a full-size product. You get 10 points for every sample review within a 30-day period (ei. December 10-January 10 for the December box) and 50 points for referring your friends).

(A kind thank you to anyone who would like to use my referral link when signing up!) 

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I love that Birchbox decided to incorporate a welcoming message for Canadians that features certain recognizable landmarks. Can you spot Parliament Hill and the CN Tower below? What else can you find?

Once the box was open, a product card lay on top of the wrapping. It looks like this:

The product card is pretty informative. It features a quick description and a 'how to' for every product as well as including the price of the full-sized items should you decide to purchase something from your box.

Two of the products (the Cynthia Rowley eyeliner and the Benefit Lollitint) were packed together in a small box inside. I'm sure I'll find it useful somewhere!

Now let's get to the samples I received:

 *Please note that all of the prices are in Canadian dollars.*

1 | Protect & Detangle (Beauty Protector)
      (Sample size: $2.00? for ? | Full size: $26.00 for 8 oz)
      (Link to product)

Gosh, this smells amazing! The fragrance is strong and sweet, but incredibly pleasant. This product "locks in colour, protects from heat damage, and adds silkiness" to the hair. Cool! I look forward to trying this out - even if just for its scent.

2 | Lollitint (Benefit Cosmetics)
      (Sample size: $6.86 for 25 ml/0.08 oz | Full size: $36.00 for 0.42 oz)
      (Link to product)

After almost a year and a half of subscription boxes, I think this is my first product from Benefit Cosmetics - can you believe that?

Lollitint is an orchid-coloured lip and cheek stain. It's lightweight and blend pretty easily on my hand.

I feel like the colour is a bit bold for me and I'm a bit afraid to stray away from my tried & true Lise Watier blush, but I'm sure I'll gear up and try this one of these days.

L - natural lighting | R - artificial lighting

My swatch photos aren't really that great this time around, but the swatch you see on the right is very close to the true colour of this tint.


3 | Eyeliner in Black (Cynthia Rowley Beauty) 
      (Sample size: ~$13.50 for 0.8 g/0.03 oz | Full size: $18.00 for 1.1 g/0.04 oz)
      (Link to product) 

Eyeliner is always welcome! This one is just a basic black but with beautiful polka dots!

I have tons of black eyeliner and I'm currently going through a liquid eyeliner phase, so I won't be using this one just yet. I do have a swatch for you though:

4 | Hello Body Cream (Harvey Prince)
      (Sample size: $1.10 for 15 mL/0.5 oz | Full size: $26.00 for 355 mL/12 oz)
      (Link to product)

*Gasp!* I had no idea that the sample of Hello eau de toilette I received last May had a body cream equivalent! How cool is that?

The scent is exactly the same (from what I remember - I'll know soon again since I ordered the full-sized perfume bottle) and long-lasting. The cream is quite moisturizing as well, so it's great that it actually does its job rather than just smelling nice.

5 | BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvinator (Vasanti Cosmetics)
      (Sample size: $5.44 for 20 g/0.7 oz | Full size: $34.00 for 125 mL/4.23 oz)
      (Link to product)

I actually got this sample in a Luxe Box a few months ago. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll make sure I do in the next few days. I don't mind getting this sample in Birchbox because this seems like a good product and getting it just goes to show me that a cheaper subscription can bring me the same samples that a more expensive box can.

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 || Total Value: $28.90 (CAD) ||

So what do you guys think of Birchbox's first month in Canada? I think they did pretty well actually! Almost all of the products are new to me and I am still so excited by the Hello body cream! I paid $14.95 for this box and I think that I got my money's worth.

A couple of days ago I got the notification that my January box has been shipped out, so hopefully the good vibes (and samples) keep coming from this subscription!

  

If you would like to sign up for Birchbox with my referral link, you can do so here. Thank you in advance! 

Thanks for reading!